Ford Freestyle Maintenance and Repair

Comments

No argument with them admitting, but a design defect is very different from a QC problem as I'd be more worried and pissed that they screwed up the basic design of a braking system as opposed to being annoyed at premature pad wear due to vendor production issues.

Regardless of it was a vendor or manufacturer related problem, from the customer's point of view it's a defect. And anything to do with braking problems is more than just an annoyance...it's a safety issue. Ford is just lucky someone didn't get killed because the brake pads were gone at 10,000 miles and they got into an accident because of it.

worse case was metal to metal and reduced braking from the rear not total failure. Considering the rear does the smaller portion and the fronts were never at issue I'd say it was an annoying situation as opposed to one that put lives at risk.

Actually, I thought part of the increased wear in the rear brakes was because more braking force was put on the rear to prevent "nose-dive" during hard braking. Plus there doesn't need to be a "total failure" of the rear brakes to cause a dangerous situation. In an emergency braking situation, rear brakes that weren't functioning properly or rubbing metal to metal are dangerous.

I'm not so much defending ford as I agree that they took to long to acknowledge this issue.

My point is that I don't believe you are making a big overstatement that there was potentially a life threatening situation in regards to this matter.

More brake force delivered to the rear does not mean that the front still does not do the majority of the braking, say rather than a traditional 70%/30% F/R, maybe now they proportion 60%/40%(these are just round numbers to illustrate my point and not in any way accurrate) alleviating some dive.

Again, I'm not saying it wasn't dangerous, but if you have pads metal to metal you know it and are adjusting your driving accordingly or better yet getting directly to the dealer to fix. Mine got metal/metal, I heard it and drove slowly to the dealer to fix it as did most I suspect.

Life threatening and lucky no one died I think is an overstatment. Not great PR and poor handling of a tough situation set up by a vendor's poor efforts, that I think is what this situation warrants.

I didn't say "design defect" if you read my post, it just says defect. And if Ford is willing to reimburse people who previously had their brakes replaced, then I'm guessing they've had quite a few complaints. And after talking to 2 different Ford dealers in 2 states, they say the same thing. But you can call it whatever you like.

Good outcome...Took copy of a TSB about shifter issues to the service department when I took it in for shifter replacement. They were surprised to see I had a TSB in hand. They totally replaced the entire shifter assembly for free! A $700 repair bill that I almost paid, because they didn't either take the time to look for a TSB or knew it was there and just wanted me to pay. :confuse: Thanks to the info here on this forum and another forum I was able to save some money!

I took my letter to the Ford service center and Ford will be sending me a check for the brakes we had replaced on our 05 FS. The second set went out too and they replaced those now the third set is under the warranty from the letter till Dec.

Has anyone had difficulty getting a refund for brake work that was already been completed. We had the rear brakes fixed on our Freestyle in November 2006. We unfortunately can't find the original receipt. The dealer has record that we had it done, but they claim we need the original receipt. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I paid to have my rear brakes replaced by me dealer in March 07. I just called my dealer the other day and spoke with the servise adviser regarding the brake letter I received. He looked on his computer and confirmed they had replaced the rear pads. He told me they would send me a check for the refund. I didn't even have to set foot in the dealership. Demand a refund and speak with a manager if you have to.

A service technician at my dealership told me if you have received the letter you must have the work done at a Ford service department. Work done at a local shop before the letter was sent to owners will be reimbursed. Now, he might have been trying to create business for the his shop, but I'm pleased with their service department so I'd take it there anyway. A call to a Ford service department will also help answer your question.

I own an 2005 Ford FS. The car accelerates by itself at low speeds during parking maneuvrs. Its gotten so bad that i have had to push the brake all the way down so that i dont hit another car. Has anyone experienced this kind od problem. THe car spent almost a month at the dealer and its still doing the smae thing.

my 2005 does that too since a week or so. it seems to be related to the power steering. the enginge revs up a bit when i turn the steering wheel but only at certain positions of the steering wheel. as if the power steering pumps needs more power then. i will have the dealer look at it when we are back from vacation.

I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle purchased new in April 2005. I'm at 39,000 miles, and the fuel pump just went. I had it towed to my regular mechanic (not a Ford dealer). He confirmed that the problem is the fuel pump which would cost $250 plus labor to replace. I read my warranty guide and know that I'm outside the 3yr/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty period. However the emission warranty language seemed to indicate that fuel pump might be covered under that clause (which is significantly longer than the 3yr/36,000 mile). I called Ford customer service (1-800-392-3673) to get clarification on the emissions warranty, but the customer service rep would not tell me if the fuel pump would be covered. He said it was "against the law" for him to tell me if the fuel pump was covered. I would instead have to bring my vehicle to a Ford dealer and have the dealer diagnose the problem to determine if it was covered by the emissions warranty. After some discussion, the customer service rep told that if I had a Ford part #, he would be allowed to tell me if that particular part was covered under the warranty. I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said that I would get a call back in 1 to 2 days. Needless to say, I'm quite dissatisfied with the lack of "customer service" I received from this rep. Does anyone know of another number to call to ask this question to Ford regarding the coverage of a fuel pump under the emissions warranty. I'm a little concerned that the fuel pump went at 39,000 miles to begin with and think that for a mere 3000 miles over original warranty that Ford should cover this repair. Any suggestions appreciated.

Obviously, the phone reps must be very careful what they say for fear the customer will seize on something out of context. This is best handled by your local dealer anyway. If you express mild dissatisfaction to them that the fuel pump failed at 39k, they might just "participate" in the cost of repair.

My guess is that the dealer won't pay for the fuel pump repair because Ford won't reimburse the dealer for the cost of the repair since it's out of warranty, so then the dealership would eat the cost.

I had a similar situation for some control modules that ended up being covered by the emission warranty, but it took a lot of calls between the service manager and Ford to make sure the dealer would be reimbursed.

Nobody like something to break down right after the warranty expires, but there has to be some defining line.

My brake work was completed in March 07 and I only had to call the service manager at the dealer for my refund. He looked on his computer and saw the work had been done and processed the payment. I check will be mailed to me. Good luck.

In July I got the ltr from Ford stating that the warranty on my 05 Freestyle rear brake pads had been extended to 36,000 miles. Since my Freestyle had about 35,000 miles I decided to take it to the local dealer for an oil change and have the rear pads checked. I also had them fix a malfunctioning windshield washer. They were finished in about an hour and told me that the warranty invoice was not ready since they had to order a part. They didn't tell which part(windshield washer or brake pads), but told me they would mail me the invoice. After several calls to the dealer over several weeks, I had still not received the warranty invoice nor did I know what was going to be done or had been done under warranty. I got a customer satisfaction survey from Ford asking about the recent service done and I gave the dealer an unsatisfactory mark for not making the warranty invoice or description of warranty work available to me. This morning I got a call from the Ford Customer Service Center about the survey and I explained all the above to them. Moments later I get a call from the local dealer that the rear brake pads are in and to schedule an appointment for the installation. Coincidence??? Was this just incompetence or is something shady going on?? I am happy to get new brake pads but the process seems a little underhanded to me.

I have a 2006 FS, so far I have loved it, but........I was driving @ about 65 mph in cruise control and the engine was accelerating to maintain speed up an incline. Suddenly, I got two warning lights, a wrench (power train), and the traction control light and then the transmission seemed to just disengage. I was coasting. If I hit the gas, the engine would rev but no propulsion. I pulled off to the side, shut off the engine, turned it back on and everything was fine. This has happened 3 times and the dealer was not been able to diagnose or reproduce it, and the codes they got from interrogating the computer were not helpful. I noticed a pattern and I was able to reproduce it. This time the computer reports that I have a problem with the computer module that controls the ABS system (Funny, no ABS light). Of course, there are 40k miles on the car and the warranty is expired despite the fact that the car is only 18-months old. The power train warranty doesn&#146;t cover the ABS module. It seems the ABS module is not part of the power train it just controls it! All of the warning lights say power train, but Ford says otherwise.

Has anyone heard of this issue? I cannot believe they do not consider this part of the power train!

Finally for the rest of the story: My problem was not the fuel pump. My mechanic was on vacation (his new assistant that suggested it was the fuel pump also suggested that I wait for his boss to get back from vacation). When he returned yesterday, he found that the real problem was a disconnected fuel inertia switch, for which Ford has a TSB 06-18-12. I would have hoped that the customer service rep I had spoken to would have mentioned this TSB. Unfortunately that rep would not even let me speak to his supervisor. He said that the best he could do was have a supervisor return my call in two days. Well two days have past and still no call. Same response to my call to the dealership where I bought the car: I called to clarify the emissions warranty language and was told that &#147;Finance Dept&#148; (not Service Dept even though I asked twice) could help me. No one was available and I left a message twice, but still no returned phone call. I&#146;m just thankful that the problem is not the fuel pump. The switch problem only cost me $33 (I&#146;m sure the dealer would have charged me a lot more than that.)

We really liked our 2005 Freestyle when we first got it but then the problems started. At 16,000 miles the CVT (continously variable transmission)failed. The dealer replaced with a remanufactured CVT. I'm at 40,000 miles and there are problems with the CVT again. Now Ford is renaming the Freestyle the Taurus X for 2008 and it comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission (they no longer offer the CVT). The rear brake pads and one rotor needed replacing at less than 20,000 miles. I complained that it was premature wear. The service tech agreed but said there was no recall so I had to pay over $400 for brakes. In July 07 I received a recall notice about premature wear of rear brake pads and rotors, and I need new brakes again. Who knows what is going to go wrong next.

you are one of the minority that have had CVT issues and there has been a recall and you can submit your receipt for your brake work and ford will reimburse you. It's unfortunate you had issues but unfortunately when you make so many of anything by anyone there are going to be some problems.